Hoisting mechanism.



E. Y. MOORE.

HOISTING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 21. 1917,

Patented July 16, 1918.

5 SHEETSSHEET l.

' E. Y. MOORE.

HOISTING MECHANISM;

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 21.1911.

Patented July 16, 1918.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

E. Y. MOORE.

HOISTING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 21.1911.

Patented July 16, 1918.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

E. Y. MOORE.

HOISTING MECHANISM. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 21.1917.

Patented July 16, 1918.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

mmam

E. Y. MOORE.

HOlSTING MECHANISM. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 21. war.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

EDWARD Y. MOORE, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

HOISTING MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 316;, 1918.

Application filed June 27, 1917. Serial No. 177,182.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD Y. Moons, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland in the county of Cuyahoga and State of (lhio, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Hoisting Mechanism, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to hoisting mechanism having means whereby a comparatively heavy load, supported at a plurality of points, may be readily raised by a comparatively light power, and may be allowed to rapidly descend, when desired, under the control of a brake. Among the uses for which my hoisting mechanism is particularly adapted may be mentioned the raising and lowering of life boats at life saving stat-ions. Such adaptation of the invention is illustrated in the drawings hereof, and is hereinafter more fully described. The essential characteristics of the invention are summarized in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of my hoisting mechanism arranged in a life saving station and shown as supporting a boat indicated in broken lines; Fig. 2 is a plan of the hoisting mechanism taken suspend it; Fig. 3 is an end view of the hoisting mechanism; Fig. 4 is a horizontal section of the power mechanism which' drives each of the load chain shafts; Figs. 5 and 6 are vertical sections on the correspondingly numbered lines of Fig. 4, looking toward each other; Fig. 7 is a perspective of the double eccentric employed in this mechanism; F i 8 is an enlarged vertical section along the axis of the hand Wheel shaft and brake shaft; Fig. 9 is a detail of the brake, being a vertical section on the line 99 of Fig. 8; Fig. 10 is a vertical sec tion on the line 10-10 of Fig. 8 showing the device for shifting the clutch and lock ing the brake lever; Fig. 11 isa sectional plan of the shifting mechanism shown in F ig. 10, being substantially a section on the offset line 11-'11 of 8; Fig. 12 is a detail of the spring device for anchoring the lower end of each lift chain to the beam it raises. a

As shown inFigs. l, 2 and 3. A indicates a boat to be raised or lowered. 10 desigon a plane just below the frame beams which nates. two horizontal supporting beams adapted to engage the keel of the boat near the opposite ends. Suitable properly formed pads 9 may be mounted on these beams if desired. Each of these supporting beams 10 is suspended from two lift chains 11 which run over pocket wheels 12 on a common shaft 13.

Each shaft 13 is mounted in bearings 14 rigidly secured to a downwardly facing channel beam 15 which is secured to some suitable support in the building as, for example, I-beam B. This same channel beam 15 supports power mechanism 17 (hereinafter more fully described) which has a driven shaft connected with the shaft 13 by a loose-play coupling 18, which prevents binding in the bearings. The power mechanism is rotated by a short shaft therein carrying the driving pinion 19. The two pin'ions 19 of the two power mechanisms are rotated in unison by a longitudinal shaft 20 which has bevel gears 21 meshing with the gears 19.

It will be seen' that the rotation of the shaft 20 may raise the two supporting beams 10 in unison, thus lifting the boat resting thereon. My mechanism provides eflicient means for rotating the shaft 20 to raise the load and also for controlling the reverse rotation of the shaft when the load descends under its own gravity.

The shaft 20 has bearings adjacent to its ends in brackets 22 secured to the face of the power mechanism. Intermediately this shaft is supported in suitable bearings (not shown) suspended from the building supports, as the I-beam B. The'shaft 20 is preferably made in sections connected by couplings 27, though it operates as a single shaft.

Tightly keyed on the shaft 20 is aspur gear 30 meshing with a driving pinion 31 in front of it. This pinion 31 is mounted on a shaft 32 which is journaled in bearing brackets 33 and 34 suspended from a downwardly facing channel beam 35 secured to some of the building beams, as the I-beams B. Alined with the shaft 32 is a shaft 40 mounted in bearings 41 and 42 suspended by the channel beam 35. Tightly keyed to the shaft 40 are hand chain wheels, by which it may be rotated. I have shown three such wheels, each designated 43 and each provided with a hand chain 44. The number of wheels may,

of course, be varied as desired, according to the load to be lifted.

On the adjacent end :portions of the two shafts 40 and 32, and rotating therewith, is

a pair of dental clutch members 48 and 38 I respectively. I One" of these members scribed construction that if the dental clutch 38 and 48 is in engagement the hand chain wheels 43 are geared directl through the spur gearing'31 and 30 wit the through shaft 20 and the twopower mechanisms, and thus tothe four lift chains. Accordinglyr' under these circumstances, the rotation of the hand wheels may operate to raise the two ends of the boatin unison. By providinga plurality of hand wheels I enable the I mechanism to be efliciently operated by several men'at once.

LR will be desirable to lower the load quickly, and this, 'of course, is particularly important in life saving apparatus. To en able such quick'descent without spinning. the

hand chain wheels, at speeds which would be detrimental, I provide the dental clutch referred to, to ether with a controllin brake, so that w endesired the hand whee s and their chains may be entirely diSCOII", n'cted from the load supporting mechanism and the latter may run down freely under the control of the brake. This mechanism is -*carried by the shaft 32 and will now be described.

Loosely journaled on the shaft 32 is a cuplike member 50 having ratchet teeth 51 constantly' acted on-by a awl 52 carried by a bracket 53 on the un er side of the beam 35.. The ratchet teeth on the on are in the direction to click" idly under t ep'awl as the shaft is turned in the raising direction.

7 The cu is normally clamped to the shaft 32 by a riction clntch. The friction clutch just referred to is preferably of-the multiple disk type. As shown in Fig. 8 it comprises a series of disks 55', the first of which (for example) is-connected by the edge ears 57 to the cup but. is free at its center from the shaft; the nextof which is mounted on a squared portion 56 of the shaft 32, but is free at its periphery from the cup, the third disk being like the first, connected with the cup; and free. from the shaft, and soon. These disks areadapted to be pressed against the "-ba'se. of; the cup by a' pressure late 60,under theinfluence ofa strong he ical spring '61 which surrounds the shaft 32 and is compressed between a suitable collar'63 pinned 'thereon and a slidable collar;64

. bearing against the pressure 'nlgte. This spring nommally' clamps the dls together so thatthe I nism. Then it is only necessary 1 the hand lever,

" Accordingly,

* '92 carried by the lever.

to engage the clutch, the other ratchet cup 50 is clamped to the shaft 32. Accordingly, in the raising operation, when the shaft 40 is rotated, the ratchet wheel or cup 50 clicks idly under the pawl, but the pawl holds the load whenever the raising operation ceases.

To lower the load, I shift the clutch member 48 out of engagement with the clutch member 38. This entirely disconnects the hand chain wheels from the driven mechato relieve the friction clamping of the ratchet cupv to allow the shaft 32 to turn within that cup and thus let the load run down. To relieve the brake, I provide a long hand lever pivoted at its upper end to the beam 35 and at 71'yoking around the shaft 32 and connected to trunnions extending from the'collar 64 which the spring presses against the pressure plate. The thrust of thespring, when compressed by is resisted. by a thrust bearin .75 carried by the hanger 34.

. he leverage of the lever 70 is sufficient so that manual power applied to the lower.

end of it-Inay compress the spring and thus relieve the frictional the shaft torotate within the ratchet cup.

the load may run down as rapidly as deslred under the effective control of sks in the binding of the disks. When relieved, the weight of the load causes the hand lever 70. Thesimple release of the spring to reset the brake stopping the descent. T

To readily shift the clutch member 48 into and out of en agement with the member 38,

I provide a sh1ftab1e bar 80 slidably mounted in the bearings 42 and 33. and having lugs 81 engaging opposite sides of a flange 82 on the lutch member 48 (see'Fig. 8) This bar manual force on the hand lever causes the 80 hasapair 0f lugs-84betweenwhich is aneccentric 85 on a; shaft 96 journaled in the bearing 33 and havin a hand wheel 88 over which runs ahand chain 89. A'pull on this hand chain suflicient to turn thehand wheel 'onehundred eighty degrees shifts the clutch member .48 from engagement withthe clutch member 38 into positionfreeth'ereof, and I .viceversa.

I To prevent the. ratchet brake being inadvertently relieved by the hand lever 70 when the dental clutch is engaging and the hand Wheels operative, I provide an automatic lock for this lever 70. This consists of a-bar 90 having a, slot 91 extending around a pin The. bar near its other end is slidably mounted in the hanger 33 and has a pair 'of lugs 94 between which extend-an-eccentric 95 on-the shaft 96. This f eccentric lies in the'diametrically opposite direction'froin the eccentric 85 heretofore mentioned. Accordingly, when the shaft 96 draws the link 80 toward theright, Fig. 1, eccentric 95 draws the link 90 toward the left so that the right hand end of the slot 91 comes against the pin 92 and prevents movement of' the lever 70. When, however, the clutch is to be freed, the same movement of the hand chain 89 which shifts the clutch member 48 out of engagement with the member 38 shifts the link 90 toward the right, carrying the slot 91 to the right of the pin 92, so that the lever 70 is free to operate to relieve the brake.

It is desirable in the lowering of life boats not only that the load run down quickly, but that the supporting beams continue to. descend in the water after the boat comes to rest, so that the boat may readily clear either beam in passing out of the boat house. To efi'ectthis I provide a fly wheel 100 on the shaft 32. As the boat drops to the water under its own gravity this shaft 32 obtains a rapid rotation, and, accordingly, the inertia of the fly wheel continues the rotation after the boat strikes the water, and thus further lowers the load chains so that the supporting beams 10, and the pads carried thereby, pass a sufficient distance down into the water toeffectively, clear every portion of the boat as it moves out of the house.

When the boat is raised, it is desirable that the engagement of the supporting beams 10 or their pads with the bottom of the boat be gentle, to prevent any injury to the boat. To insure this I connect theload chains 11 with the beams 10 by supporting springs, best shown in Fig. 12. The beams 10 are preferably composed of two channel beams placed back to back and suitably spaced apart. The lower ends ofthe load chains 11 are anchored to eye-bolts 111, the shanks of which extend through plates 112 secured to the upper flanges of the channel beams forming the unitary beam 10. Be-

low these plates the shank of the'eye-bolt is surrounded by a helical compression spring 115. Below this spring is a suitable washer and nut 116 on the eye-bolt shank. This spring support prevents any undue blow being given to the bottom of the boatat the startof the raising operation.

The power mechanism l7 which receives comparatively rapid rotations from the bevels 19 and delivers comparatively slow rotations to the coupling 18 may be of any approved form. The mechanism preferred for this purpose is illustrated in detail in Figs. 4 to 7 inclusive, and will now be described.

The frame 17 of the power mechanism includes a hollow box-like. structure sus-' pended from the channel beam 15 and carrying two alined shafts and suitable reduction glearing. That is to say, there is a s driving aft 120, on which the bevel gear 19 is mounted, and a driven shaft 121 on the outer end of which is mounted one of the coupling members 18. -On opposite sides of the axis of the driving and driven shafts 120 and 121 are two shafts 123, both of which are geared with the driving shaft 120 by spur gearing. Each shaft 123 has a spur gear 124 rigid on its end portion which meshes with opposite sides of a gear 125 keyed to the shaft 120. Each shaft 123 is provided with two eccentrics 126 and 127 extending from the shaft in diametrically opposite directions. The pair of eccentrics 126 of the two shafts extend in the same direction, and the pair of eccentrics 127 of the two shafts in the samedirection, which is opposite to that of the first mentioned pairs The different eccentrics occupy circular openings in a pair of gyrating yokes, namely, a yoke 130 engaged by the two-eccentrics 126 and a yoke 131 engaged by the two eccentrics 127. Both yokes surround a single spur gear 132 keyed to the driven shaft 121 and each yoke is provided with .internal teeth as 133, Fig. 6, meshing'with some of the teeth of the spur gear.

It results from the above construction that if the bevel pinion 19' is rotated, this causes simultaneous rotation of the two eccentric shafts 123 which gyrate the two yokes 130 and 131, causing a slow rotation of the driven gear 132 ofthe driven shaft 121. The rotation of the driven shaft to that of the drivingshaft is in the ratio which the difference between the number of internal teeth 133 on a yoke and the number of external teeth on the gear 132 bears to the number of teeth on such gear. Accordingly, this reduction. gearing may be very powerful, enabling manual power applied to the hand wheels to raise a heavy load readily.

1n the operation of my mechanism it will be understood that the boat is ordinarily suspended by the members 10 and the raised lift chains at a point above high tide. The dental clutch 48, 38 is normally disconnected, and thus the brake relievin lever 7 0 is normally free for action. ccordingly, whenever the call comes for the boat to put to sea, the operators simply swing the lever toward the right, Fig.1, and the boat descends to the water with great speed. The spinning fly wheel 100 carries the boat supports well down into thewater so that the boat is entirely free to be propelled over the forward supporting beam out of the house.

The beams 10 may be left in their lower position until the boat returns and is brought over them. The hand chain 89, being operated, brings. the dental clutch into engagement, and then the operators, pullin down on the hand chainst t, slowly raise the boat to the desired point. During this raising operation the brake relieving lever 7 0 is locked, so that the brake may not be inadvertently relieved. As the raising progresses, the ratchet cup p'a'sses. idly under the pawl and the pawl sustains the load whenever the pull on the hand chains is released. After the boat has been raised to the desired elevation, the clutch may be disconnected and the brake relieving lever unlocked by a slight pull on the proper reach of the hand chain 89. The boat is then 'ready for instantaneous descent whenever necessary.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is: I

1. In ahoisting mechanism, the combination of raising mechanism provided with a ratchet device adapted to hold the load, driving mechanism, a clutch adapted to connectthe driving mechanism with the raising mechanism or disconnect it therefrom, a brake adapted to control the load on the descending movement, and mechanism for insuring'the disengagement of the clutch and of the ratchet device when the brake is released.

2. In a hoisting mechanism, the combination of raising mechanism, a hand chain wheel for driving it, a clutch between the hand chain wheel and raising mechanism, a brake for the raising mechanism, means for releasing the brake, and an interlocking device between the clutch and the brake-releasing means preventing the release of the brake until the clutch is disengaged.

3. The combination .with a lift member, power mechanism for raising it, of a brake adapted to retard the downward movement of the lift member, means tending to seat the brake, means operable to relieve the brake, a driving device, a clutch between it and the power mechanism, and a device for locking the brake-relieving means in inactive position when the clutch is engaged.

4:. The combination with a flexible lift member and power mechanism for raising it, of a brake adapted to retard the downward movement of the flexible member, a spring tending to seat the brake, a lever for relieving it, a hand raising device, a clutch adapted to connect the same with the power mechanism or disconnect it therefrom, and means/for locking the lever in inactive position when the clutch is engaged.

5. In a hoisting mechanism, the combination of a flexible lift member, a lift wheel therefor, power mechanism for rotating the liftwheel, a hand wheel, a clutch adapted to connect it with the power mechanism or disconnect it therefrom, a brake adapted to retard downward movement of the flexible lifting member, means tending to constantly apply the brake, means to relieve such application, means for shifting the clutch, means for automatically locking the brake reliever in idle position when the clutch is engaged,

and a ratchet member which the brake engages and .which operates idly. on raising movement.

6. In a mechanism of the character described, the combination of two hoisting devices, each having its own power mechanism, a through shaft geared with the two power mechanisms, a hand wheel shaft, a clutch adapted to connect it with the through shaft and disconnect it therefrom, a brake adapted to retard backward rotation of the through shaft, and means insuring the disconnection of the hand wheel before the brake can be relieved. 1 I

7 In a hoisting mechanism, the combination of raising mechanism, a driving hand chain wheel, a ratchet device frictionally connected with the raising mechanism rotatable freely in the raising direction, means adapted to. relieve the friction to allow the load to run down notwithstanding the ratchet, a clutch adapted to connect the hand chain wheel with the raising mechanism, and means for insuring the disengagement of the clutch before the frictional connection of the ratchet can be relieved.

8. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of two hoist mechanisms, a common shaft geared with both mechanisms, a driving shaft alined therewith and a brake shaft, gearing between the brake shaft and the same common shaft, a clutch between the brake shaft and the driving shaft, a ratchet brake on the brake shaft idle during raising movement, means tending to constantly apply the brake, means for relieving the brake, and an interlocking device between the brake relieving means and the clutch for insuring the clutch being disengaged when the brake is relieved.

9. In an apparatus of the class descrlbed,

the combination with a plurality of hoisting mechanisms each having reduction gearing and an individual driving device, of a. common operating shaft geared w1th the two driving devices mentioned, a brake shaft parallel with the operating shaft, a drivlng shaft alined with the brake shaft, a dental 7 clutch between the driving shaft and brake shaft, a brake on the brake shaft, means for preventing the release of the brake when the clutch is engaged, and gearing between the brake shaft and the same common shaft.

10. In an apparatus of the class descrlbed, the combination with a plurality of ho sting mechanisms, of a common operating shaft, a brake shaft parallel with the operating shaft, a driving shaft alined with the brake shaft, a dental clutch between the driving shaft and brake shaft, a ratchet brake on the brake shaft idle during raising movement, gearing between the brake shaft and through shaft, a spring tending to constantly apply 'the brake, and lever mechanism adapted to relieve the spring.

, the spring, a driving shaft, a clutch adapted to connect or disconnect the drlvmg shaft- 11. The combination with a plurality of hoists, of a common operating shaft therefor, a-brake shaft geared with said operating shaft, a brake on the brake shaft, a spring for setting the brake, a lever for relieving the spring, a thrust bearing for said shaft, and means for driving said shaft.

12. The combination with a plurality of hoists, ofa common operating shaft therefor, a brake shaft geared with said operating shaft, a ratchet brake on the brake shaft, a spring for setting the brake, a lever for relieving the spring, a thrust bearing for sa1d shaft, a driving shaft,a hand wheel thereon, and a dental clutch adapted to connect the driving shaft with the brake shaft or disconnect it therefrom.

13. The combination with a pluraility of hoists, of a common operating shaft therefor, a brake shaft geared with said operat ng shaft, a brake on the brake shaft, a spr ng for setting the brake, a lever for relieving with reference to the brake shaft,-a lock for the brake-relieving lever, and mechanism for concurrently disengaging the clutch and releasin the'lock;

14. he combination of a plurality of hoists, a common driving shaft therefor, an independent hand wheel shaft a plurahty of hand wheels thereon, a shaft alined with the hand wheel shaft and constantly geared with said common driving shaft and a clutch adapted to connect said hand wheel shaft with said alined shaft or disconnect it therefrom.

15. The combination of a plurality of hoists, an independent hand wheel shaft, a plurality of hand wheels thereon, means adapted to'disconnect said hand wheel shaft from the hoists, a ratchet device idle in the raising direction, a friction clutch normally connecting said ratchet device with the hoists, and'means for relieving said friction clutch when the hand-wheel shaft is disconnected.

16. The combination of two beams spaced apart and adapted to support a boat, two hoisting mechanisms for the two beams respectively, an operating mechanism therefor, and a fly wheel on the operating mechanism, whereby the lowering movement of the operating mechanism may be continued after the load stops descending.

17. The combination of two spaced beams adapted to support a boat, two hoisting devices each adapted to raise one of said beams, each hoisting device having its own power mechanism, a common shaft connected with the two power mechanisms, a driving device for operating the common shaft, and a fly-wheel connected with said common shaft and adapted to continue its operation in the descending direction after the boat strikes the water.

18. The combination with a hoist, of a shaft geared therewith and having a ratchet brake and a fly wheel, a driving shaft having a hand Wheel, and a clutch between the hand wheel shaft and the shaft carrying'the brake and fly wheel.

19. The combination of a plurality of hoists, a common operating shaft therefor, a pair of shafts alined with each other, a clutch adapted to connect or disconnect said alined shafts, a hand wheel on one of said shafts, gearing between the other alined shaft and the common operating shaft, and a brake and fly wheel on such gear connected shaft.

20. The combination of a plurality of hoists, a common operating shaft therefor, a pair of shafts alined with each other, a clutch adapted to connect or disconnect said shafts, gearing between the other alined shaft and the common operating shaft, and

a braking device on such gear connected shaft comprising a rotatable member having ratchet teeth, a pawl adapted to engage sa1d teeth, friction disks, a sprin adapted to cause said friction disks to 0 amp said rotatable member to the shaft, and means for relieving the spring.

21. In a hoisting mechanism, the combination, with raising and lowering mechanism, a fly-wheel adapted to continue the operation of said mechanism'in the lowering direction after the load stops, a driving mechanism for driving the operating mechanism, and means for disengaging the driving mechanism to allow the load to descend by gravity.

22. The combination, of mechanism adapted to engage a load and raise or lower it, a fly wheel for said mechanism, a driving hand chain wheel, a clutch adapted to connect it with said mechanism, a brake to control the descent of the load, and means for disengaging the clutch allowing the load to descend under the control of the brake and allowing the mechanism to continue its descendingmovement by the momentum of the fiy-wheel after the load has stopped.

23. In a hoisting mechanism, the combination ofraising mechanism, driving mechanism, a clutch adapted to connect the'driving mechanism with the raising mechanism, a ratchet device for holding the load comprising a ratchet wheel and pawl, releasable means for clutching the ratchet wheel to the raising mechanism, and means for insuring the disengagement of the clutch when the releasable means is released.

24. In a device of the character described, the combination of raising mechanism provided with a ratchet device adapted to hold the load, means for freeing the ratchet device, drivingl mechanism, a clutch adapted to connect t e driving mechanism with the to enablethe descent of the load. v

25. In a hoisting mechanism, the combination of a raising mechanism, provided with a normally active ratchet device adapted to hold the load, mechanism for freeing the ratchet device, driving mechanism, a

cliltch adapted to connect the driving mechanism with the raising mechanism, a brake adapted to retard the descending movement, mechanism for controlling the brake, mechanism connecting the clutch with the brake controller to insure the disengagement of the clutch when the brake is released, said ratchet being connected to the driving mechanism by said brake and adapted to be released when the brake is released.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto aflix my signature.

EDWARD Y. MOORE. 

